Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) involved in the regulation of B cell immune senescence / 细胞与分子免疫学杂志

The humoral immune response of B cells is the key to the protection of specific immunity, and immune aging reshapes its production and function. The decreased B cell immune function is an indicator of immune senescence. The impaired humoral immune function mediated by antibody secreted by B cells leads to a decline in the response of elderly individuals to the vaccine. These people are therefore more susceptible to infection and deterioration, and have a higher incidence of tumors and metabolic diseases. Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is an enzyme that triggers immunoglobulin class conversion recombination (CSR) and somatic high frequency mutation (SHM). It decreases during immune senescence and is considered to be a biomarker of decreased B cell function in aging mice and humans. Understanding the inherent defects of B-cell immune senescence and the regulation mechanism of AID in the aging process can provide new research ideas for the susceptibility, prevention and treatment of diseases in the elderly.

Construction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cdd knockout and evaluation of invasion and growth in macrophages

Cytidine deaminase (MtCDA), encoded by cdd gene (Rv3315c), is the only enzyme identified in nucleotide biosynthesis pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is able to recycle cytidine and deoxycytidine. An M. tuberculosis knockout strain for cdd gene was obtained by allelic replacement. Evaluation of mRNA expression validated cdd deletion and showed the absence of polar effect. MudPIT LC-MS/MS data indicated thymidine phosphorylase expression was decreased in knockout and complemented strains. The cdd disruption does not affect M. tuberculosis growth both in Mid- dlebrook 7H9 and in RAW 264.7 cells, which indicates that cdd is not important for macrophage invasion and virulence.

Interleukin-17 Enhances Germinal Center Formation and Immunoglobulin G1 Production in Mice

OBJECTIVE: Interleukin (IL)-17 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that has pleiotropic effects on multiple target cells and thereby contributes to the development of immune-mediated inflammatory disorders. However, the role of IL-17 in the humoral immune response has not been clearly elucidated. METHODS: Mice deficient in IL-17A (IL-17A knockout [KO] mice) and wild type (WT) C57BL/6 mice were compared. Distinct B cell (mature/precursor and marginal zone/follicular) and plasma cell populations were compared using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and confocal immunostaining. Immunoglobulin production was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: There was no difference in B cell and plasma cell populations between IL-17A KO and WT mice. However, after T cell-dependent antigen challenge, IL-17A KO mice produced lower levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 than wild-type animals. IL-17A KO mice also showed reduced germinal center (GC) formation and lower expression of activation-induced cytidine deaminase, the essential enzyme for class switch recombination (CSR). IL-17 had no effect on the proliferation or survival of naïve B cells in in vitro functional studies. However, IL-17 treatment promoted naïve B cell differentiation into plasma cells in synergy with IL-4, although IL-17 alone had no effect. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that IL-17 contributes to the humoral immune response by enhancing GC formation, CSR to IgG1, and plasma cell differentiation in synergy with IL-4.

Concomitant AID Expression and BCL7A Loss Associates With Accelerated Phase Progression and Imatinib Resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

No abstract available.

Recent advances in the study of mechanism of APOBEC3G against virus / 药学学报

APOBEC3 is a class of cytidine deaminase, which is considered as a new member of the innate immune system, and APOBEC3G belongs to this family. The research about APOBEC3G is a new direction of innate immune defense mechanism against virus. APOBEC3G has the restrictive activity on many viral replications, which deaminates dC to dU in the viral genome and then induces extensive hypermutation. APOBEC3G can also interrupt viral replication at several phases such as reverse transcription, replication, nucleocapsid and so on by non-deamination mechanisms. However, virus can encode viral proteins to counteract the restriction activity of APOBEC3G. Elucidation of the antagonistic interaction between APOBEC3G and the virus will be contributed to development of new antiviral drugs in the future.

Association between APOBEC3G polymorphisms and susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association between rs185983011 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3G (APOBEC3G) and the susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The blood samples were collected from 186 healthy subjects and 159 patients with chronic hepatitis B. The rs185983011 SNP was detected and genotyped by sequencing with Sanger's method to analyze the relationship between rs185983011 SNP and chronic hepatitis B.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Only C/C and C/T genotypes of the alleles of rs185983011 SNP were found in the tested subjects, and the C/C genotype was predominant (97.7%). The distribution frequencies of rs185983011 SNP genotypes and alleles showed no significant difference between healthy subjects and patients with chronic hepatitis B (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The predominant genotype of rs185983011 SNP of APOBEC3G is C/C in the tested subjects, and rs185983011 SNP does not appear to associate with the susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B.</p>

Tactics used by HIV-1 to evade host innate, adaptive, and intrinsic immunities / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To review the mechanisms by which HIV evades different components of the host immune system.</p><p><b>DATA SOURCES</b>This review is based on data obtained from published articles from 1991 to 2012. To perform the PubMed literature search, the following key words were input: HIV and immune evasion.</p><p><b>STUDY SELECTION</b>Articles containing information related to HIV immune evasion were selected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Although HIV is able to induce vigorous antiviral immune responses, viral replication cannot be fully controlled, and neither pre-existing infected cells nor latent HIV infection can be completely eradicated. Like many other enveloped viruses, HIV can escape recognition by the innate and adaptive immune systems. Recent findings have demonstrated that HIV can also successfully evade host restriction factors, the components of intrinsic immune system, such as APOBEC3G (apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like 3G), TRIM5α (tripartite motif 5-α), tetherin, and SAMHD1 (SAM-domain HD-domain containing protein).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>HIV immune evasion plays an important role in HIV pathogenesis. Fully understanding the tactics deployed by HIV to evade various components of the host immune systems will allow for the development of novel strategies aimed toward the prevention and cure of HIV/AIDS.</p>

Association of polymorphisms of cytosine arabinoside-metabolizing enzyme gene with therapeutic efficacy for acute myeloid leukemia / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C)-based chemotherapy is the major remedial measure for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Deoxycytidine kinase (DCK) and cytidine deaminase (CDA) are the key enzymes in the metabolism of Ara-C. Many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of DCK and CDA, which contribute to susceptibility to Ara-C, have been identified in Africans and Europeans. However, there has been no report about the relation among three SNPs in DCK (rs115543896, rs72552079, and rs111454937) and two SNPs in CDA (rs2072671 and rs60369023), and their clinical response to Ara-C for a Chinese population. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether these five SNPs are associated with the therapeutic outcomes of Ara-C-based chemotherapy regimens in patients with AML.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 151 Chinese patients with AML were enrolled in our study. SNPs genotyping were performed using the MassARRAY system by means of the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results illustrated that DCKrs111454937 AA genotype was more frequent in patients with higher platelet count, and A allele frequency was significantly higher in the group £40 years, lower white blood cell (WBC) count patients group and the group with platelet counts > 60'10(9)/L. Meanwhile, both DCKrs72552079 TC (OR = 1.225, 95%CI = 1.225 - 9.851, P = 0.0192) and CDArs60369023 GA (OR = 9.851, 95%CI = 1.31 - 77.93, P = 0.0263) significantly improved Ara-C-based chemotherapy response. While DCKrs11554389 AA (OR = 0.147, 95%CI = 0.027 - 0.801, P = 0.0267) was associated with the decrease of Ara-C-based chemotherapy response.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It is evident that the DCK and CDA polymorphisms might be the important markers for the AML patients' therapy outcomes in a Chinese population.</p>

H2O2 promotes neutrophil adherence and injury of human umbilical vein endothelial cells / 生理学报

To explore the role of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in promoting polymorphonuclear neutrophils adherence and injury of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), the ordinary optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy were used to observe the adherence and injury after HUVECs co-cultured with neutrophils pretreated by extracellular H2O2 (HUVECs and neutrophils co-culture without H2O2 pretreatment as control), and the adhesion rates of neutrophils were measured through cell count test. The percentages of HUVECs expressing intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and Apo2.7 were detected by flow cytometry. After being cocultured with the neutrophils pretreated by extracellular H2O2, HUVECs showed obvious injury changes, such as round or oval shape, shortened or disappeared microvilli, and membrane structural damage; The adhesion rate of neutrophils was (57.74 ± 9.18)%, which was significantly higher than that in control [(23.12 ± 6.43)%, P < 0.01, n = 8]; The percentages of HUVECs expressing ICAM-1 and Apo2.7 were (44.69 ± 1.52)% and (39.29 ± 1.81)% respectively, which were significantly higher than those in control [(21.79 ± 1.43)% and (9.79 ± 1.43)%] (P < 0.01, n = 8). The results suggest that extracellular H2O2 can promote the neutrophils adherence and injury of HUVECs.

Affinity maturation of anti-TNF-alpha scFv with somatic hypermutation in non-B cells

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is required for the generation of antibody diversity through initiating both somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination. A few research groups have successfully used the feature of AID for generating mutant libraries in directed evolution of target proteins in B cells in vitro. B cells, cultured in suspension, are not convenient for transfection and cloning. In this study, we established an AID-based mutant accumulation and sorting system in adherent human cells. Mouse AID gene was first transfected into the human non-small cell lung carcinoma H1299 cells, and a stable cell clone (H1299-AID) was selected. Afterwards, anti-hTNF-α scFv (ATscFv) was transfected into H1299-AID cells and ATscFv was displayed on the surface of H1299-AID cells. By 4-round amplification/flow cytometric sorting for cells with the highest affinities to hTNF-alpha, two ATscFv mutant gene clones were isolated. Compared with the wild type ATscFv, the two mutants were much more efficient in neutralizing cytotoxicity of hTNF-alpha. The results indicate that directed evolution by somatic hypermutation can be carried out in adherent non-B cells, which makes directed evolution in mammalian cells easier and more efficient.

Activation-induced Cytidine Deaminase in B Cell Immunity and Cancers

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is an enzyme that is predominantly expressed in germinal center B cells and plays a pivotal role in immunoglobulin class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation for antibody (Ab) maturation. These two genetic processes endow Abs with protective functions against a multitude of antigens (pathogens) during humoral immune responses. In B cells, AID expression is regulated at the level of either transcriptional activation on AID gene loci or post-transcriptional suppression of AID mRNA. Furthermore, AID stabilization and targeting are determined by post-translational modifications and interactions with other cellular/nuclear factors. On the other hand, aberrant expression of AID causes B cell leukemias and lymphomas, including Burkitt's lymphoma caused by c-myc/IgH translocation. AID is also ectopically expressed in T cells and non-immune cells, and triggers point mutations in relevant DNA loci, resulting in tumorigenesis. Here, I review the recent literatures on the function of AID, regulation of AID expression, stability and targeting in B cells, and AID-related tumor formation.

Activation-induced Cytidine Deaminase in B Cell Immunity and Cancers

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is an enzyme that is predominantly expressed in germinal center B cells and plays a pivotal role in immunoglobulin class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation for antibody (Ab) maturation. These two genetic processes endow Abs with protective functions against a multitude of antigens (pathogens) during humoral immune responses. In B cells, AID expression is regulated at the level of either transcriptional activation on AID gene loci or post-transcriptional suppression of AID mRNA. Furthermore, AID stabilization and targeting are determined by post-translational modifications and interactions with other cellular/nuclear factors. On the other hand, aberrant expression of AID causes B cell leukemias and lymphomas, including Burkitt's lymphoma caused by c-myc/IgH translocation. AID is also ectopically expressed in T cells and non-immune cells, and triggers point mutations in relevant DNA loci, resulting in tumorigenesis. Here, I review the recent literatures on the function of AID, regulation of AID expression, stability and targeting in B cells, and AID-related tumor formation.

Research methods of anti-HIV-1 inhibitors targeting at Vif-APOBEC3G axis / 中国中药杂志

The mammalian APOBEC3G protein (apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide 3 protein G, APOBEC3G) is an important component of the cellular innate immune response to retroviral infection. APOBEC3G can extinguish HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus type 1) infectivity by its incorporation into virus particles and subsequent cytosine deaminase activity to block replication of HIV-1. HIV-1 Vif (viral infectivity factor) suppresses various APOBEC3 proteins through a common mechanism which induces the degradation of target proteins. Therefore, the interrelation of Vif-APOBEC3G has been extensively studied, which represents attractive targets for the development of novel inhibitors. We summarize the papers in which the detection technique and methods have been developed to assay the anti-HIV activity and its mechanism, such as western-blotting, co-immunoprecipitation, pulse-chase experiments, bioluminescence resonance energy transfer, biomolecular interaction analysis. This review is towards developing therapeutics aimed at the Vif-APOBEC3G axis.

Effect of genetic alterations of cytarabine-metabolizing enzymes in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs] of deoxyctidine kinase [dCK] and cytidine deaminase [CDA] are known to alter their enzymatic activities, which affect the metabolism of cytarabine. Currently, treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL] includes cytarabine, especially in high-risk patients. Therefore we hypothesized that a genetic variation of dCK and CDA genes may influence the risk of cytarabine-related toxicities and early response to treatment. We included children diagnosed with ALL and lymphoblastic lymphoma [LL] stage III and IV. The patients received a modified ST Jude Total Therapy Study XV protocol. Cytarabine was used during induction remission [low-dose cytarabine] and reinduction II [high-dose cytarabine] phases. Genotyping of dCK -360 > G and -201 > T and CDA 79A > C and 208G > A was performed. Minimal residual disease [MRD] at the end of the induction phase was measured using flow cytomery. Ninety-four children with ALL [n=90] and LL [n=4] were analyzed. The median age at diagnosis was 5.8 years [range, 0.4-15 years]. All four SNPs showed predominant wild type alleles. There was no CDA-208A allele in our population. Children with dCK-360G allele were at risk of mycositis after receiving low-dose cytarabine [OR=3.7; 95% CI, 1.2-11.3]. Neither dCK nor CDA polymorphisms affected the MRD status at the end of induction phase. The dCK-360G allele was found to found to increase the risk of mucositis after expose to low-dose cytarabine in childhood ALL therapy

Expression and subcellular localization of APOBEC3G in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and liver tissues of chronic HBV patients / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the expression level and intracellular localization of APOBEC3G in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and liver tissues of chronic HBV patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression level and intracellular localization of APOBEC3G in PBMCs and liver tissues were detected using the western blot and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Western-blot showed that the expression level of APOBEC3G in PBMCs of healthy controls was very low. The relative expression levels of APOBEC3G in PBMC of patients with chronic hepatitis B, chronic severe hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, or liver cancer were 4.12+/-0.21, 4.07+/-0.28, 4.16+/-0.36 or 4.21+/-0.39 respectively, which were higher than that in the healthy controls. However, there was no significant difference in APOBEC3G expression among different chronic HBV patients (q = 0.931, 0.744, 1.675, 1.675, 2.606 or 0.931, respectively, all P values more than 0.05). In addition, there was no significant difference on APOBEC3G in liver tissues between chronic hepatitis B patients and hepatocellular carcinoma patients (4.40+/-0.34 vs 4.34+/-0.43, q = 0.588, P more than 0.05). CLSM indicated that the localization of APOBEC3G protein was in cytoplasm of PBMCs and hepatocytes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>APOBEC3G is upregulated in the PBMCs of chronic hepatitis B patients.</p>

Expression of Gemcitabine-resistance-related gene and polymorphism of ribonucleotide reductase M1 gene promoter in Gemcitabine-resistant A549/Gem and NCI-H460/Gem cell lines / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assay the expression of cytidine deaminase (CDA), ribonucleotide reductase subunit 1 (RRM1), phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted from chromosome 10 (PTEN), excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1), deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) and RRM1(-)37A/C polymorphism, which have been shown relevant to gemcitabine resistance in two human gemcitabine-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cell lines A549/Gem and NCI-H460/Gem, so as to make clear how do they vary during the course of acquiring resistance to gemcitabine.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The human gemcitabine-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cell lines A549/Gem and NCI-H460/Gem were established in our Department by repeated clinical serum peak concentration and gradually increasing doses. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR was used to examine the expression of CDA, RRM1, PTEN, ERCC1, dCK and RRM1(-)37A/C polymorphism in those cell lines at different time points during their induction process.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The resistance indexes of A549/Gem and NCI-H460/Gem cells reached 163.228 and 181.684, and then remained stable at 115.297 and 129.783, respectively. The expression of CDA, RRM1, PTEN and ERCC1 varied along with the changing gemcitabine resistance indexes, but expression of dCK did not change apparently. The wild type promoter was able to amplify the genomic DNA in different induction stages of A549/Gem and NCI-H460/Gem cells, but allelotype did not, indicating that the gene type of A549/Gem, NCI-H460/Gem and their parental cells remaining still wild type.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compared with their parental cells, the expressions of CDA, RRM1, PTEN and ERCC1 in human gemcitabine-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cell lines A549/Gem and NCI-H460/Gem rise, the expression of dCK changes inapparently, therefore, their gene type are remaining wild type.</p>

Progress in the study of HIV-1 Vif and related inhibitors / 药学学报

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) viral infectivity factor (Vif), one of the accessory proteins, which is a small basic phosphoprotein, is essential for viral replication and pathogenesis. The best well-characterized function of Vif is its ability to neutralize the host cell antiviral factor, apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide like 3G (APOBEC3G), which makes the viral particles more infective. In addition, Vif can regulate the reverse transcription and the advanced stage of replication of the virus particle, as well as induce the termination of cell cycle at G2 stage and so on. The designed drug aimed directly at Vif can efficiently block the maturation and infectivity of HIV-1. In this review, the structure, function and especially the related inhibitors of Vif are reviewed.

Molecular Pathogenesis of Gastric Cancer

In this article, I will survey the major genetic susceptibility and somatic genetic alterations involved in gastric cancer and adenoma. These include germline and somatic genetic alterations in oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and apoptosis-related genes. A small proportion of gastric cancers arise as a consequence of hereditary predisposition caused by specific germline mutations in E-cadherin, mismatch repair genes, adenomatous polyposis coli, and STK11. Aberrant expression of activation induced cytidine deaminase, triggered by Helicobacter pylori infection, accumulates with genetic mutations of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, including p53 and CTNNB1. Inactivation of trefoil factor family 1, which is a gastric specific tumor suppressor, occurs in gastric adenomas and cancers. Ectopic expression of CDX2 leads to intestinal metaplasia and defective Cdx2 expression accelerates the transformation of metaplastic cells to gastric cancer. Genetic alterations of p53 and genes related to Wnt signaling pathway and microsatellite instability occur early in the development of gastric carcinoma, indicating that detection of certain genetic alterations in adenomas may be indicative of malignant transformation. In addition, inactivation of apoptosis-inducing gene caused by mutations may be an escaping mechanism against apoptotic cell death and contribute to the progression of gastric cancer. Although the results of many studies are contradictory with one another, genetic alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are present even in gastric adenoma and increase in frequency during multistep gastric carcinogenesis. Genetic alterations described herein, and from as yet unidentified target genes in gastric cancer cells, will guide us towards more effective risk assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.

Inhibitory effect of a HBV vector plasmid expressing A3C on HBV replication / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the inhibitory effect of a replication-defective hepatitis B virus (HBV) vector plasmid expressing A3C on HBV replication in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The HBV vector plasmisd pCH-LJ3-A3C and pCH-LJ3-hrGFP expressing A3C and hrGFP were constructed using PCR and gene recombination technique. The two recombinant plasmids were separately cotranfected into HepG2 cells along with the wild-type HBV plasmid pCH-3093. The HBV DNA in the cell cytoplasmic lysates and in the cell culture supernatant was extracted for Southern blotting, and the nucleocapsid-associated HBV DNA were amplified by PCR, cloned and sequenced.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>pCH-LJ3-A3C showed obvious inhibitory effect on HBV DNA in the cytoplasmic lysates and cell culture supernatant, causing a reduction of the HBV DNA by 31% and 40%, respectively. The pCH-LJ3-A3C plasmid was capable of editing the HBV DNA. Among the 50 sequenced clones, 36 clones had G-A mutations, with a total of 982 such mutations.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>pCH-LJ3-A3C can inhibit the replication of HBV primarily by editing HBV DNA. The pCH-LJ3-A3C plasmid may serve as a new antiviral agent against human HBV infection.</p>

Enhanced protein production of Vif and APOBEC3G by HIV-1 Vpr / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Goal of this study was to test the potential regulatory effects of Vpr on Vif and Vif-mediated degradation of APOBEC3G.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The Vpr effect was first tested in a fission yeast RE007 strain that carries a single integrated copy of vpr gene in the chromosome and transformed with a vif-expressing plasmid. Similar tests were also carried out in a muristerone A vpr-inducing HEK293 mammalian cell line that were transfected with the plasmids expressing vif and/or APOBEC3G. Western Blot analyses were used to measure the corresponding protein levels under different experimental conditions.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Expression of HIV-1 vpr appears to enhance the protein levels of Vif both in fission yeast and mammalian cells. A similar enhancement effect of APOBEC3G by Vpr was also detected in mammalian cells. Interestingly, however, the increased Vif protein level by Vpr did not result in more APOBEC3G degradation than without Vpr, indicating a potential regulatory effect of Vpr on Vif-mediated proteolysis of APOBEC3G.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>To our knowledge, this is the first report describing a potentially conserved and regulatory effect of HIV-1 Vpr on Vif and Vif-mediated protein degradation of APOBEC3G.</p>